Boys recite Pledge of Allegiance next to flag outside North Carolina fire department
A photo of two young boys who stopped to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in front of a North Carolina firehouse has gone viral. Over the weekend, Roseboro Fire Department posted an image of the boys with their hands over their hearts as the flag was raised.
The department said in a Facebook post on Friday that their chaplain spotted the two boys, now identified as Thomas, 7, and Derrick, 6, paying respect to the flag in Roseboro, a small town near Raleigh.
"This afternoon as Chaplain Herring was raising the U.S. flag to full staff, he looked over to the intersection and saw these two young people standing there with hands on their heart saying the Pledge of Allegiance," the post read. "God bless our community."
The act of patriotism received an outpouring of support and pride in comments. Many commended the boys and how they were raised. The news eventually made its way to Derrick's mother, Ladii Ingram.
Ingram told CBS News that she was at work when she started receiving notifications about her son and nephew. She admitted to being initially worried, but then that turned into pure joy once she realized what the attention was for.
"I started crying," Ingram told CBS News. "It made my day."
Ingram said she's "very proud" of them and both boys "can hold a conversation like they're 21 years old."
They will also be rewarded for their good behavior, Ingram said.
"I plan on taking them to an arcade because they like playing video games," she said. "That's on my to-do list."